1. Waste Audits and Solutions
The Importance of Information
Mark Lennon
IRN – The Recycling Network
Sustainable Communities, Sustainable Campuses
April 24, 2013
2. It
is
easy
to
recycle
! Put
out
containers
! Collect
stuff
! Send
it
to
market
3. It
is
not
easy
to
understand
how
you
are
doing
1. Are
you
ge6ng
everything
out
of
the
waste
stream
you
should?
2. Are
you
ge6ng
everything
out
of
the
waste
stream
you
can?
3. Are
you
saving
money?
Are
you
was=ng
money?
4. It
is
not
easy
to
understand
how
you
are
doing
4. What
are
you
recycling
compared
to
what
you
are
purchasing?
5. How
do
different
departments
compare?
How
do
different
dorms
compare?
6. Are
you
gaining
ground?
Losing
ground?
5. Recycling
&
Ralph
Waldo
Emerson
ž
R
egulatory
Compliance
ž
W
eight
ž
E
conomics
Recycling
informa=on
serves
these
goals
6. Compliance
1. Understand
your
regulated
commodi:es
• Hazmats
and
biowastes
• Universal
wastes
• Electronics
• Disposal
bans
2. Track
them
3. Document
where
they
go
7. Weight
1. Understand
your
largest
waste
streams
• Trash
(typically
>50%)
• Paper
and
cardboard
(40-‐55%)
• Organics
(20-‐25%)
• Construc:on
wastes
(Zero
to
A
Lot)
• Surplus
Property
(Zero
to
A
Lot)
• Beverage
containers
(2%)
• Single
stream
2. Understand
where
they
are
generated
8. Weight
3. Understand
where
&
how
they
are
collected
• Dumpster,
front-‐
or
rear-‐load,
loose
• Rolloff
container
• Compactor
• Bales
• Hampers,
gaylord
containers
4. Know
where
they
go
• Waste
vendor,
specialty
vendor
• Think:
Vendor
mo:va:ons
9. Weight
5. Understand
how
they
are
reported
• Monthly?
Per
pickup?
• Per
Stop?
Per
route?
Per
campus?
• By
weight?
By
volume?
6. Know
what
you
want
to
do:
Get
as
much
as
possible
out
of
your
waste
stream
!
10. Weight
7. Know
what
to
ask
for:
• Per
stop
quan::es,
not
route
quan::es
• Per
container
quan::es,
not
combined
quan::es
• Daily
quan::es,
not
monthly
quan::es
• Weights,
not
volumes
• Data,
not
es:mates
8. Insist
• Your
vendors
know
this
stuff.
They
don’t
necessarily
want
you
to
know
it.
11. Economics
1. What
should
you
be
paying
for?
• Tonnage
/
Tip
Fee
• Transporta:on
What
are
you
paying
for?
2. How
much
are
you
paying?
How
much
should
you
be
paying?
12. In
the
End
1. What
is
being
picked
up?
2. Where
is
it
being
picked
up?
3. How
is
it
being
picked
up?
4. Where
is
it
going?
5. How
is
it
being
reported?
6. How
are
dollar
values
aeached?
13. In
the
End
1. Document
compliance
2. Rate
by
commodity
and
loca:on
• Iden:fy
areas
to
improve
3. Time
Series:
Rate
over
:me
4. Financials:
• Separate
tonnage
from
haul
• Compare
to
benchmarks
and
industry
stds
• Iden:fy
areas
to
improve
14. Economics
3. What
should
you
be
gefng
paid
for,
and
how
much?
• Fibers
• Metals
What
are
you
gefng
paid
for,
and
how
much?